.....and unbelievably, it's far stupider than last year's. I'm sure anyone who looked at last year's site will say "No way VA, NOTHING could out stupid last year's!", but alas, the inanity has reached critical mass.

Look for youselves, the format would be cool if the content wasn't so hopelessly pretentious and lacking in any value to anyone who is thinking about skiing when buying skis.

three skis? they offer three different skis? is the silver for the stud who isn't insecure and the gold for the man who knows he rules the mountain? Will people think I'm making up for shortages if I buy the gold? should I buy the silver? I don't know what to do. Thank god Mozart is playing in the background, isolates me from the bro/bra websites that my elder self will no longer attend. Ahhhh.... finally...

i went back and took another look. (shut up) I feel mildly offended about the samurai section. As if a samurai would give up his secrets so easily, then sell them. Interestingly enough, in my second look at the website, I found not one relation to skiing. Not one. finally.... sophistication, art, watches, cameras, steel. oh, the cold steel.

I just checked this site - how awful! Liberace-style cheese sauce smothered on a website of badness... my favorite line is: "Laser-inlaid, diamond-finished 'winged v': the distinguishing 'hood ornament.' " Does this mean the skis will hurtle from the rack and impale the grill of the vehicle behind me?!

I just checked this site - how awful! Liberace-style cheese sauce smothered on a website of badness... my favorite line is: "Laser-inlaid, diamond-finished 'winged v': the distinguishing 'hood ornament.' " Does this mean the skis will hurtle from the rack and impale the grill of the vehicle behind me?!

What about the chip, incase they are stolen?

These are the same skis, they offered from 01-02. Prices aren't listed but will range from $1,495-1,795.00 Or you can go to yor local Sports Authority and pick up some Sin's for $79.00

This and many other companies have fallen prey to the allure of Flash technology. Somehow they think that an overly complex Flash filled website equates a quality product....I cant stand it. I would understand if they were a website production company..but they arent. I want the facts and the specs, I dont want to see slow and difficult to navigate mini movies. I could understand a first intro page with Flash (with a skip option) but thats it. I dont have the patience to navigate sites like this...it turns me off, makes me think that they are trying to make up for poor product offerings by wowing me with smoke and mirrors. Last years site was no better.

When are web developers wake up to the fact that there still (lots) of people using dialup connections?

Quote:

Originally Posted by XJguy

This and many other companies have fallen prey to the allure of Flash technology. Somehow they think that an overly complex Flash filled website equates a quality product....I cant stand it. I would understand if they were a website production company..but they arent. I want the facts and the specs, I dont want to see slow and difficult to navigate mini movies. I could understand a first intro page with Flash (with a skip option) but thats it. I dont have the patience to navigate sites like this...it turns me off, makes me think that they are trying to make up for poor product offerings by wowing me with smoke and mirrors. Last years site was no better.

BTW anyone know where I can get a Volant ski bag?

It's usually the company's fault. I know several freelance (there's that word, again) that have tried, unsuccessfully to get their clients to keep their web sites simple. Marketing execs always seem to want smoke and mirrors, instead of simple substance.

After spending much of last season in the Net in search of the perfect pair of skis (mostly to narrow down my demo options and work as a complimentary search in addition to talking to people on the slopes and at shops) I have come to the conclusion that most ski company websites are, how did you say, "stupid."

Very few of them offer up all the pertinent data you want (I'd find some sites that listed the lengths of the skis, but then fail to post the dimensions and/or turning radius).

What they all have in common is wonderful marketing fluff in the form of catchy phrases and over-the-top lingo in an order to sell skiing as being cool.

Does anybody remember the K2 site from 2 seasons ago? It was all set up like Area 51 and the skis were made to seem like alien invaders.

That said, the Volkl and Elan sites are pretty decent, as are a lot of the "indie" sites by the likes of Line (I know, they're owned by K2 now, so not exactly indie anymore), 4Frnt, Armada, and even the more micro ones like PM Gear and Prior. I've found that the "little" guys offer up clearer, concise sites and tend to be more approachable (they'll actually return emails...at least AK, Armada, and PMGear did AND were actually interested in starting up a dialogue with me, a potential customer).

Check out exoticskis.com for examples of pretty decent, informative sites. The BIG guys could learn a lot from the little guys (i.e. sometimes less is more...show the skis, list the tech data, have a customer service section that works--i.e. actually skiers who will return your emails with legitimate and informative responses).

Oh yeah, perhaps Volant is trying to appeal to the same clientele who would purchase those bamboo Indigo skis from Bogner? Or those skis made by Wally, the company that makes super-yachts? I am sure there is a niche-niche market out there of folks who want to look good sitting in the lodge (my cousin always used to say that a person's skiing ability was inversely related to the clothes he/she was wearing and the gear they had).